How are relative dating and absolute dating different?

A.

Relative dating gives the order in which a rock layer formed compared to those around it by using layering and fossils, while absolute dating can give the age in years by using half-lives of radioisotopes.

B.

Relative dating can give the age of rock in years by using radioisotopes, while absolute dating can only give the relative age of rocks to those around it using fossils.

C.

While both relative and absolute dating can give the age of a rock layer in years, relative dating uses radioisotopes and absolute dating uses layering order and fossils.

D.

Relative dating can give the age in years by using fossils and layering order, while absolute dating can only tell whether one rock layer came before or after another by using radioisotopes.

Relative dating gives the order in which a rock layer formed compared to those around it by using layering and fossils, while absolute dating can give the age in years by using half-lives of radioisotopes.

Explanation:

The relative dating and the absolute dating use different methods, have different purposes, but they still manage to complement each other.

The relative dating is not a dating method that provides information about the exact time of a rock or a fossil. Instead, this method is comparative. It is using comparison of the layers of rock and the fossils in them, having a rough age span for them, and it provides information about the period in which a rock layer has formed, or a life form has been living.

The absolute dating has the purpose of providing information about the exact age of a rock layer or fossil. In order to do so, this method uses the half-lives of radioisotopes, so it manages to provide either the exact age, or to have a very small margin of error in the exact age.